Katia & Hugh

The tail end of hurricane Katia has arrived in Warwickshire resulting in a bumper windfall of hazelnuts.   On the way to put out the recycling in the morning I saw them scattered around and dashed back, grabbing my improvised watering can (plastic jug from Wilkinsons).  I collected a jug-and-a-half-full on my first scour (still in flip flops and jogging bottoms when the neighbours walked past the gate).  By lunch time another handful had fallen and every time we came into the garden more fresh hazelnuts strew the path.

As it happens, this weekend in the Guardian magazine Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall based his recipe column on hazelnuts so we have a selection of very tasty recipes to try out.  With so many hazelnuts to get through I’m thinking of making a few batches of the honeyed hazelnuts for family Christmas gifts, but the hazelnut meringues are all for us!  The recipes are here if you are lucky enough to have your own glut of nuts: http://bit.ly/pGQmCL

My conscience told me to leave some for the squirrels to nibble on but this Summer I have been waging a war on last year’s hazelnuts, having sprouted up and down the borders that frame the path.  Their roots head straight down into the ground; even the smallest take some uprooting.  In the end there were so many nuts around the path and beds that I left any beyond easy reach for the wildlife to enjoy –any saplings should remain safely tucked under the parent tree.